Ludwig Wittgenstein – Culture and Value – Review

This collection of Wittgenstein's "remarks" written over a time period of forty years was first published as "Vermischte Bemerkungen" in the original German in 1977. These remarks are taken from his private manuscripts and diaries, which were finally translated into English in 1980.

As a vast majority of Wittgenstein's manuscripts or notebooks were written with no intent by the author for publication, it makes one wonder how the philosopher would feel about this book. He comments on a vast array of subjects from architecture, Shakespeare and music. And, of course, his philosophical musings, some remarks actually taken from his famous text, Philosophical Investigations.

It would be helpful if the reader had some previous knowledge of Wittgenstein's work and life before embarking on this text, however, I don't believe it to be absolutely essential. Surprisingly, numerous remarks throughout the text can stand alone on their own merit without contextualisation. On the other hand, these remarks can also contribute to a greater understanding of Wittgenstein's philosophy, thus, in the end, Culture and Value is an excellent addition to the Wittgenstein Corpus.

I've come to understand that reading Wittgenstein is about a process of thought, a new method of thinking about our language and the world. Wittgenstein is not about a theory of reality but a process of thinking, asking different questions, never taking anything for granted, always pushing against conventional wisdom, pushing thought to its limits. At times these "aphorisms" can communicate as nonsense, ephemeral, disconnected, etc, but reading them slowly, immersing oneself into them, can produce some interesting results.

One of my favourite aphorisms: "Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself."

Or one of his descriptions of genius: "There is no more light in a genius than in any other honest man - but he has a particular kind of lens to concentrate this light into a burning point."

Reading Wittgenstein's remarks gives us a point of entry into his essential concerns as a philosopher and a human being. In fact the last remarks were written in 1951, the year of his death.

Culture and Value is that type of philosophical text that can be picked up occasionally over many years and one will continue to find stimulus for thought.